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Aramark has teamed up with the New England Dairy council and the Fuel up to Play 60 program to host our first ever Breakfast Recipe Challenge! This challenge is open to elementary school and junior high school students across the state. We are asking students to put together a team to create a unique breakfast recipe featuring wholesome ingredients that can be added to our school breakfast menu. Recipe submissions are due April 27th and can be submitted right to your school’s cafeteria workers or emailed to NEDFC@newenglanddairy.com. Five teams will be selected to compete in a statewide cooking challenge in May for a panel of celebrity judges. Winners will not only have their recipe featured on Aramark breakfast menus state-wide but will also be featured in Stop & Shop circulars around the state and will win a $3,500 breakfast make-over for their school!

On November 11th, twelve of our Aramark managers set time aside to volunteer at the Park View Veterans’ Day 5K Run/Walk in Cranston, RI. All of these managers hail from different school districts throughout the state, and gave up their mornings to support this fundraiser to help the Wounded Warrior Project. In addition to the food that we were able to donate, we had a few people guiding the finishers of the race, others removing runners’ tags to track their finishing order, and even had five participants in the race itself! It was a blast serving our local community and the returned armed forces service members to whom we all owe so much.

I’m sure you all have heard of RI’s famous little boy from Westerly! Dorian Murray is a student at Springbrook Elementary who is suffering from terminal pediatric cancer. With all the struggles life has dealt him he still remains a positive, funny and amazingly wise beyond his age young boy who is loved greatly by his family, friends and community.

It is amazing to see that for the second time this year during tragedy how close the Westerly community is and how they all come together and offer their support to families in need. It also warms my heart to know that people all over the world are joining in on the #D-Strong movement and making Dorian’s wish of becoming famous before he goes to heaven come true!

Today, the Westerly School District called for all students, staff and administration to wear blue in honor of Dorian. I thought I would share with you some of my staff pictures taken today. These will be posted on the “Praying for Dorian” Facebook page, monitored by his mother, in hopes it will bring a smile to his face that all the Westerly “lunch ladies” are thinking of him and his family.

The start of the school year can be hectic for both parent and students, but this year at school district across RI, Aramark managers were there to help! Aramark managers participated in open house events in districts across the state including Pawtucket (pictured), Cranston, Johnston and Westerly to help families navigate the start of the school year process. Aramark tables at open house events included information on this year’s new meal benefit application, the www.myschoolbucks.com online pre-payment system, the current year’s lunch menu and other district-specific initiatives. Tables also featured a healthy snack of locally grown apples from Hill Orchards in Johnston and coloring materials featuring Aramark’s elementary school mascot, Ace the Fox, providing students with information on the importance of healthy eating and physical activity.

Below, Aramark managers Tara Charette and Will Van Patter from Pawtucket Public Schools provide information to parents on upcoming events including the start of Pawtucket’s COZ program on 10/13 which features after school dinners provided by Aramark. Pawtucket’s evening meal program is currently the largest program of this nature in the state!

On Thursday, September 17th, thousands of Aramark employees nationwide participated in Aramark Building Community Day: a day set aside each year for volunteering and giving back to each region’s local community. As big of an impact that this event creates, it also provides a snapshot of what is already occurring in our company as we daily enrich and nourish the lives of the people we interact with. Participation was widespread this year and the impact that it made even more so.

Our Rhode Island food and facilities team were eager to participate in this event in our own area, and spent the day volunteering at the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Their commitment to distribute food to the needy and to end hunger made them the perfect choice for us to partner with for this event. 15 people from our region took an afternoon away from the office to sort through the donated food and assist in any way they could. As a result, the food we organized was able to be distributed more quickly to reach the people that depend on it all over the state. This day made such a substantial impact and The Rhode Island Community Food Bank was so grateful for our help.

We were thankful that we got the chance to participate and serve our local food bank. We look forward to what good Aramark Building Community Day will bring next year, and in the meantime will be continuing our commitment to enriching the lives of others each and every day.

National Association of Town Watch (NATW) is a national organization to bring communities together by promoting crime prevention in the community and across the nation. National Night Out (NNO) is one of the major campaigns of the organization. Over 16,000 communities host an event to promote the police to community partnership. The events can be block parties, festivals, BBQ or many other various activities. The event is the held on the first Tuesday of August annually.

Central Falls Police Department and Central Falls Prevention Coalition host a block party with the help of many sponsors; Aramark being one of them. The goal of the event is to build a relationship between the community and the police department. The festival included fun activities such as Sumo Wrestlers, A Dunk Tank, as well as booths with representatives from organizations from around the community for residents to view the resources available. The event was held at Jenks Park on the Broad Street Side.

Aramark collaborated with the Central Falls Park and Rec department to cleanup Jenks Park, the morning of the event, to have it ready for the evening festivities. Multiple managers from around the state volunteered their time to assist with the process. During the evening Aramark hosted the BBQ for the event which included donating: hamburgers, hot dogs, watermelon, chips, lemonade, and cookies. We hope to be able to be part of this important event for many years to come.

Managers that assisted with Clean up and the BBQ and the Districts they represent

Tricia Wright-Central Falls, International Charter School and William M. Davies

Danielle Landry- Central Falls, International Charter School

Kaitlin Naylor-Westerly, Narragansett

Christine Barnes-North Providence

Managers that assisted with the cleanup and the Districts they represent

The Pawtucket School Committee last week signed a contract extension with food service vendor Aramark, saying they were happy to do so after the company’s performance in its first year feeding city students.

Aramark came in when the local school district was in a “scary place” last November after former food service provider Sodexo walked out, said School Committee Chairman Michael Araujo, and the state-approved vendor took the reins the day before Thanksgiving without missing a beat.

Members of the School Committee voted last November to rescind a three-year contract with Sodexo after officials from the Rhode Island Department of Education took issue with the board going with a company other than the lowest bidder, Chartwells.

A controversial vote last June to sign with Sodexo over Chartwells, despite Chartwells coming in with a bid $171,000 less, prompted a threat of legal action from the spurned vendor and warnings from R.I.D.E. that the school district could lose $4 million in meal reimbursements if it didn’t restart the bidding process.

With the state’s master vendor list available to them as an alternative to the bid process, school officials decided to sign with state vendor Aramark.

Going with Aramark gave the school board the option of starting the bid process again this year, but they now say they have no reason to move away from the company since they’re happy with the service and the financial terms of the agreement stay exactly the same.

School Committee member Joe Knight congratulated the company for taking over “in such a difficult situation,” with just two weeks’ worth of transition time.

Supt. Patti DiCenso said Aramark workers were “amazingly efficient” with their “seamless transition” to Pawtucket, “acclimating in some very good ways.”

Students have given their approval to the new lunch program at every turn, said DiCenso. One of the best examples was when local high school students were tweeting and Snapchatting Aramark’s “make your own burger” bar as “the coolest thing that ever happened in high school,” she said.

DiCenso said she wants to see what Aramark can do with a whole year to plan their strategy instead of just a few weeks.

School Committee member Erin Dube said she and colleague Kim Grant visited the schools last fall expecting to find “some chaos,” but could find nothing but positives after the new company took over.

Aramark officials said there were some adjustments to be made on the fly, but they were able to take advantage of the knowledge from existing staff who “love the kids and love serving them well.” They said staff and students have noticed the difference in the food since Aramark took over.

WESTERLY — Dozens of the Westerly school district’s students are continuing to receive nutritious meals even though school’s out for the summer, thanks to a partnership with the state.

About 85 children enrolled in Westerly Public Schools’ summer programs have the opportunity to have free breakfast, lunch and a snack Monday through Friday during the more than monthlong summer session that ends in the middle of August.

All breakfast meals and lunches are bagged. Breakfast includes milk, vegetable or fruit and a grain/bread, like a blueberry muffin, for example. Lunch includes milk, vegetable or fruit, grain/bread and a meat or meat alternative.

Snacks choices are celery sticks with sunflower-seed butter or pretzels with yogurt, among others.

Kaitlin Naylor, the director of Westerly Public Schools’ food-service provider Aramark, said officials have been serving about 15 breakfast meals, 50 to 60 lunches and 60 snacks per day.

Beginning last week, Aramark also started using fresh, organic produce like lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash and green and yellow wax beans from Hillandale Farm in Westerly.

Food is prepared on-site at Tower Street School Community Center.

“It’s important for Aramark and Westerly Public Schools to serve summer meals because it greatly helps the families of those enrolled during the summer months,” Naylor said. “Parents/guardians don’t have to worry about packing lunches and their children receive a nutritious meal made fresh daily.

“Aramark also has a strong sense of community and this new program helps us get our foot in the door with Westerly as this is our first year as their food-service provider.”

The summer meal program is in collaboration with the Rhode Island Department of Education. According to its Admin Guide for Sponsors of the Summer Program, the Summer Food Service Program was established “to ensure that low-income children continue to receive nutritious meals when school is not in session.”

Naylor said, “Like the National School Lunch Program, the Summer Food Service Program works because the district is able to claim meals through the state and receive reimbursements.”

Superintendent Roy Seitsing­er Jr. called the summer meal program “an excellent opportunity for our children and families” and said it’s just the beginning.

“Kaitlin Naylor and I have plans to open a walk-in meal site summer 2016,” he said, “giving us a bit of time to plan appropriately.”